Police use dipping sauce to track down accused robbers

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OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A dipping sauce helped Olympia police track down a couple who allegedly robbed a man near his home, police said.

Greg Burkart said he was doing some yard work on Saturday when he noticed a man peeing in a nearby alley. Burkart said he tried to capture the act on his cell phone to use as evidence for police, but a woman started yelling at him and punched him in the face.

"She went like this and hit me as hard as she could on the side of the head," Burkart said. "I felt kinda bad it was a woman, but she hit me."

Burkart said the man he caught peeing in the alley also attacked him.

At one point, Burkart said the couple dropped a bag of food that they bought at Eagan's Westside Drive In along Harrison Avenue Northwest. The couple eventually ran off with Burkart's phone, he added.

Investigators found a container in the alley that they recognized as Goop, a dipping sauce sold for $0.46 at Eagan's, police said. A bag from Eagan's was also found in the alley.

Investigators contacted Eagan's employees, who said the couple had stopped by the restaurant earlier in the day. Employees also found footage of the couple on their surveillance cameras, they said.

Employees said the couple called Eagan's later to complain about their order and said they'd be back for a refund after leaving the emergency room.

"They called Eagan's and told Eagan's that they had dropped their food and wanted to get their food replaced," Burkart said.

"(They) wanted a refund on their Goop 'cause they had to go buy something," said employee Amanda Burnham.

Eagan's employees said they called police. Officers arrested both suspects at the hospital on robbery charges.